President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday that his soldiers have taken back a village in eastern Ukraine near Bakhmut from the Russian army. This is the second important victory for Ukraine in three days as they fight against the Russian army.

Zelenskiy praised the soldiers for gradually reclaiming land in the Bakhmut area. “Today I would like to particularly commend the soldiers who, step by step, are returning to Ukraine what belongs to it, namely in the area of Bakhmut,” he said in his video address to the nation.

The battle for the village of Klishchiivka, which is about 6 miles south of Bakhmut, has been going on for weeks. Ukraine had also recently gained control of another nearby village called Andriivka. These victories are significant because Ukraine has been trying to push back the Russian forces, but it has been very challenging.

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The commander of Ukraine’s ground forces, Oleksandr Syrskyi, posted a video showing Ukrainian soldiers raising their flag on damaged buildings in Klishchiivka, indicating that they had taken control of the village from the Russians.

Russia’s defense ministry had mentioned ongoing attacks in the Klishchiivka area in their daily briefing. Ukrainian military experts have said that winning back villages near Bakhmut will help Ukraine’s military advance from the south in that region. Zelenskiy thanked the successful units involved in these operations and mentioned some of their names.

A spokesperson for the Ukrainian troops in the east, Ilia Yevlash, said that this battle had caused significant damage to Russian airborne units, a Chechen battalion led by Ramzan Kadyrov, a group called Storm-Z consisting of Russian criminals, Russian military intelligence, and motorized rifle units. “So, now we have gained a base that will allow us to continue to develop offensive actions and liberate our land from the invaders,” Yevlash wrote on Telegram.

Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar mentioned that Russia is still trying to regain control of the village. “Today we had to fight off enemy attacks all day,” she said. Russia has been in control of Klishchiivka since January and still occupies large parts of eastern and southern Ukraine.

The fighting in Klishchiivka and other areas in eastern Ukraine has left many buildings in ruins, and Bakhmut, which was taken by Russia in May, has been a focal point of this conflict.